Driven by Love: Book 2: Winds of Desire
by Akira Sieghart
Summary: Ten years have passed and it seems as if everyone's new lives have buried the Carmines' memory. But when the monster escapes, those memories resurface. Now the Chipmunks and Chipettes are forced to relive their past... But can they beat him again?
1. The Prologue

**I know what most of you are thinking! "OMG! IT'S FINALLY OUT!111oneone" Well, let me personally tell you this; it isn't. I've been planning on doing this for a while, actually. This is the Prologue to the second book. Nothing more, nothing less. Let me also tell you all that I'm sorry. I know that I've been "dead" for the past few weeks, but that's because I've been so busy and I've actually been sick recently. But everything's fine now. I hope to get back to writing soon. Also; this does NOT mean that I'm canceling _A Reason to Live_! No, it'll be continued AND finished BEFORE the second book is written. This is just a small treat for you guys. Also, for anyone that never read the first book, try reading it, please? I've been told it's good. You may like it. ^^**

**(P.S: I'm also trying out my new writing style that my English teacher and I have been working on. Tell me what you think.)**

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**~*~*~*~*~The Prologue~*~*~*~*~**

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The air was silent and cold… unbearably cold. It seemed as if the atmosphere had come to life and tried to portray this scene as a horrific death. And it some ways, death was the appropriate word. Ten years… ten long years of his victims trying rebuild their lives and defenses. After ten years, those lives were thwarted and their defenses were crushed and thrown into the wind.

It was a horrible feeling. It caused everyone's breath to cease. To think that the monster that they had tried so desperately tried to bury underneath their new lives – and successfully done so – had returned. Their minds raced. What was he going to do? Was he after revenge? Probably. But there was no way to tell. They could only sit silently and wait… unless… Could they stop him? Did they have a chance? They did it once before, didn't they? They should be able to do it again.

Over the years, they've only grown stronger. Not just physically or mentally, but emotionally, as well. Their love as a family could withstand anything, right? Surely it was true. After all, hate was a very powerful emotion… but there was always one above it. One that always fouled evil's hate-filled plans; Love.

Love _was_ the answer. It _had_ to be. They've all had courage. They all had their individual strengths, talents, and even weaknesses…. But did it matter? The amount of their love easily dwarfed all of that. Love… _Love_. That was the key! As long as they stick together, nothing that he could do can defeat them. Together; they are a force of great power. Bound together by their unfathomable love for each other. There was no doubt that it was a huge advantage over him… but was it enough?

It was no question that his physical strength easily outweighed theirs. What about his mental strength? If he had really broken out of his incarceration to get revenge, he _had_ to have a plan. It was a given. Sure, he wasn't too smart, but he definitely wasn't stupid. Not by a long shot. And even more of a problem was the fact that he had _ten years_ to formulate a plan. Did _they_ have a plan? No. They simply ruled him out of their lives and did away with his memory. They never considered the possibility of him returning. They continued on with their lives… was that best thing to do?

It was true. After his wrongdoing ceased, they tried their hardest to make the best out of their lives, and after many years, they succeeded. But none of that mattered anymore… They whole foundation of their new lives is merely crumbling beneath their feet. They can't just sit and let it happen, can they? No… No! They have to stop him and they know that! They've come much too far to simply give up. They all know the stakes all too well… He could easily injure or even kill them and they realize that. He's already _almost_ succeeded. But what other choice do they have? They haven't moved since he was put away… He knew exactly where to find them. And even if they _could_ manage to run away, what good would it do?

Sure, they would be safe, but for how long? There's no doubt that he'd go after anyone with connections to them… are they right to lay that danger and burden on their friends? No, it's not right. So that left them two options; wait for him to come for them, or stop him before he gets the chance to make the first move. Waiting is out of the option… Who knows what he could do in the meantime? He could easily gather all different types of weapons or even gather people to help him seek his revenge.

So that leads to only one acceptable option… They _needed_ to stop him. There was simply no other way. But could they really do _whatever_ is necessary if – and when – the time comes? None of them have ever taken a life before… no one should ever have that kind of blood on their hands… But he _did_. And there was no doubt in their minds that he would do it again if they gave him the opportunity. How could they compete with that? None of them wants to take a life, so what should they do? Was the situation _really_ hopeless? No, it can't be true! There has to be another way! Surely there's a way to stop him without taking his life, they just need to find it.

After all, they have the advantage. Not just because of their love or courage, but their overall reasoning behind their actions is stronger than his. He's only fighting for revenge selfishness… But they were fighting for something _much_ more important; each other and their will to stay together as a family. And that made them stronger than him. They _will_ stop him… or die trying…

**

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**

**So what did you think? Good? Bad? All of your opinions matter _very_ much to me... you have no idea. Anyway, it was meant to be a little of a "teaser" for some of you that have been waiting for it. But think about it like this; it gets you interested in the series again, doesn't it? That was the point. I know that I haven't written anything (.) in a while and I haven't written _anything_ for _Driven by Love_ in a few months. But I haven't forgotten about you guys. I know that a lot of you are waiting for this story... and it's coming. Give it a little time. After all, you wouldn't want to rush a masterpiece, would you?**

**(P.S: For any of you Halo fans; you guys have heard about Reach, right? Awesome, isn't it? Anyway, if you'd like to play, my Xbox LIVE GamerTag is: MadFCaliburn. Anyone who wants to check my other games or just communicate, send me a friend invitation.)**

**-MadFCaliburn~Akira Sieghart**


	2. No More

**Why, hello there, people. How's everyone doing? Well, I'm doing much better than I used to be doing and after taking (much needed) time off, I'm ready to return. So, my fans...let's make history...**

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"_No more.  
What do we stand for  
When we all live in fear?"_  
-**No More** – Three Days Grace

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**~*~*~*~*~****No More****~*~*~*~*~**

An eerie silence rained over the room and its inhabitants. No one dared to speak but it was quite clear that everyone had something on their mind whether that be anger, shock, or fear. _Fear…_ that was the key word… no matter how their minds differentiated from each other, _fear_ was the common emotion running cold through their blood. But the fear was different from before. It wasn't just stronger, it was somehow _darker_. After spending ten years imprisoned, there was no telling what the monster's intentions could be, what his devilish plans were… and that somehow affected their fear as if a piece of his evil was infused with it. The thought that he could come after _any_ of them set a new, more personal fear into their hearts. But why would he come after _all_ of them? But, that's when they remembered…

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_**~Flashback~**_

_The stern judge waited patiently as the jury walked back into the room and took their seats. Once settled, the man sitting foremost right; the presiding juror stood and waited for the judge's orders._

"_Jury," The judge paused. "Have you reached a verdict?"_

"_Yes we have, your Honor. We find Michael Carmine guilty of all charges." The presiding juror answered._

_For a mere split second, the courtroom became dead-quiet. It seemed as if the only genuinely surprised one was Mike, himself. He looked at the twelve jurors with blazing eyes before quickly turning to the source of his frustration and current predicament; Alvin and Brittany. He looked back towards the center of courtroom to see a few officers walking towards him._

"_What?" His voice erupted._

_Almost instantly the judge slammed his gavel on the desk. "Michael Carmine, the jury has found you guilty. I sentence you to life in prison with no chance of parole." The judge declared before slamming the gavel again._

_Alvin and Brittany stayed silent and unmoving, however, they were creaming on the inside. To know that the monster before them was about to locked up and unable to hurt anyone else made them ecstatic on the inside._

_Mike fought hard against the officers but he knew it was no use. He erupted again; "Don't think this is over!" He screamed at the kids._

_But they still sat there and watched him with strong eyes. They knew that they couldn't show the monster any fear and they didn't. It angered him._

_Once Mike was carried out of the courtroom, everyone else did as well. Alvin and Brittany—once they left—were met with a surprisingly large amount of reporters that had been waiting outside. Even though Dave, Miss Miller, Alvin, _and_ Brittany denied any comments or interviews, they all found about the judge's decision but not only that, they also somehow discovered that Alvin and Brittany's siblings helped Brittany escape. Immediately, they published it worldwide._

_**~End of Flashback~**_

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But they didn't care back then. But of course, they were still kids… Before this whole mess, they didn't have a care in the world. They didn't need to. And after that final court hearing, they tried to put as much as they could behind them and for a while, it worked. Ten long, happy years passed without this whole horror resurfacing in their minds. Sure, an occasional thought would spark in their minds, but it was _behind_ them. They knew that they didn't have to worry about the man the plagued their childhoods anymore and that security stayed with them. But just like that, that wall crumbled to dust right before themselves and it seemed as if there was nothing they could do about it. It was hard to accept that all of this was about to happen again. But they had to, nonetheless… the truth was; Michael Carmine was back.

Silence still filled the room. Minutes passed that felt like hours but the dread-silence was finally broken by the screeching sound of a door opening before being slammed shut. The lesser-stunned members of the ground in front of the television slowly turned to see Dave run over to them. Dave slowed to a stop and silently looked back at them. He saw that the television was turned on and was turned to the news channel that he directed as well as the near-petrified state everyone seemed to be in. He had no trouble putting two and two together.

He sighed. "I guess there's no point in asking you all if you saw it…"

At this point, just about everyone was turned to face him. Everyone except for Brittany, of course. She was still staring at the television screen in disbelief as if she was in a dream. Alvin looked back at her.

"Brittany…" He paused. "Are you alright?"

But she didn't answer and he didn't expect her to. One thing was going through her mind; _'This couldn't be happening…'_ That one thought kept circling in her mind until the point where she was convinced that this was all a dream, but the news report—continuing on the television that talked about Michael's hypothetical whereabouts quickly brought her back down to reality. It wasn't a dream and now it seemed as if they were all back to the position they were in all those years ago. In retaliation; she let out an ear-piercing shriek. It caused her to gain everyone's attention, but just as they were about to ask her if she was alright, the world started spinning and she dropped to the floor.

"Brittany!" Alvin screamed out.

And that was the last thing that she heard before the darkness took over.

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**Well, I know that it wasn't too much but don't worry, I'm actually ahead of the game... I have a few chapters written already and they'll be released periodically. Just remember to review and tell me what you thought! It means a lot!**


	3. Paradise Lost

**Alright, guys. I promised you more and here it is. The second chapter of Winds of Desire. I hope you all enjoy it! ^_^**

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"_So take me and make me  
Weak and then save me,  
This hate that you gave me keeps saying the same thing."  
_**-Paradise Lost** - Hollywood Undead

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**~*~*~*~*~****Paradise Lost****~*~*~*~*~**

The night was bleak and nearly silent. To most; it seemed like any other typical night to spend with their families, relax from their daily activities, or do something else that seemed _normal_ to them. But to the seven souls within the house within that same neighborhood, this night was anything but _normal_. Their minds previously set on the best that they could think of—whether that be new adventures in a new area, a new career, or marriage—were now littered with thoughts about their own dreadful past returning and haunting them all over again. But it was too late… all they had time for now was to think of a plan to counteract the monster that plagued them once again.

"We have to do something!" Alvin's voice erupted within the house. "What do you want us to do, Dave? Just sit here and wait for him to come to us?"

Dave sighed in retaliation. "No, Alvin, but we have to think rationally. We can—

"Rationally?" Alvin shouted back. "He tried to rape her, Dave! He tried to kill me! –He tried to kill all of us! We can't sit around and do _nothing_!"

"I never said that we would do that!" Dave backfired angrily.

Nothing but silence followed. Perhaps the reason for the silence was because Dave almost never raised his voice… except for yelling Alvin's name in its infamous tone. But this was different than his kids simply getting into trouble and he having to make things right again, this was bigger than all of them and no one was sure how to handle it. He knew he couldn't mess his decision up, the stakes were much too high and he couldn't help but admit it… he was scared. Not scared for himself, no. Never. But scared for the people he held close in his life. Scared for his family. He knew everyone was looking to him for an answer, but for the first time… he simply didn't have one.

"I…I…" Dave muttered as he turned away from the group. "I don't know what to do…"

Everyone sighed behind him. They needed an answer as soon as possible but they knew they certainly couldn't dump the entire responsibility onto Dave… he didn't deserve it… no one did. And with their heads down, they stood in silence.

"Don't worry, Dear…" Miss Miller cooed as she slowly placed a hand on Dave's shoulders. "Everything will be fine. I'm sure of it."

Dave slowly turned around and the painful tears in his eyes became clear. "I hope you're right, Miss Miller…"

Back upstairs in the boys' old bedroom, Brittany lay there, sprawled out on what used to Alvin's bed. Her eyes were barely open and dampened by newly formed tears that just wouldn't stop pouring down her face. Just as before, _'This can't be happening'_ just kept running through her mind over, and over again. Was there anything that she could do? And if yes, what? She could hear everybody arguing downstairs… they had no plan… no clear way to stop the beast that was about to plague their lives again. So what was the point? If the only way to win was not to do anything, what was the point in even trying? It didn't make any sense to her but she knew that doing nothing simply was _not_ an option. She knew that she needed to be strong. Not just for herself, but for her family. If there _was_ any way to get through this, they needed to do it together. With those thoughts in mind, she pulled herself out of Alvin's bed and headed downstairs. Once fairly down the numerous steps, she could hear everybody arguing all over again. She followed their voices into the kitchen and watched them for moments on end.

"Guys…" She tried to interrupt them.

It didn't work.

"Guys?"

Still, they continued to talk, yell, and argue right over her voice. Even thought they were all decently close to her, they didn't notice her. She felt herself starting to grow impatient as she continued calling out and raising her voice a level with every failed attempt. She could perfectly understand why everyone was in such a hectic mood and in most ways, she would usually be there with them. But even she was thinking rationally enough to realize that they couldn't just stand around, firing back and forth at each other and do _nothing_. But how could she get through to them?

"GUYS!" Brittany shouted—nearly at the top of her lungs.

_This_ worked beyond what she had expected. The others quickly turned to her in silence as she walked towards them with a firm look on her face.

"Would everyone just stop yelling?" She frowned. "We need to actually _do_ something."

Dave was the first to react. He sighed and looked at everyone. "Brittany's right. Instead of arguing with each other, we need to think of a plan that we can use. To start things off, we need to go directly to the police as soon as we can."

"What's that going to do?" Alvin scoffed. "They barely did anything the first time."

Simon sighed in response. "I hate to admit it… but Alvin's right. We should still contact the police but I don't think we should actually _rely_ on them. It's too dangerous."

"Well, remember," Jeanette added. "We're talking about an escaped felon. Not _just_ the police will be after him."

A loud, audible 'gulp' was heard and everyone looked towards its source; Theodore. "B-But…" Theodore stuttered. "What if he comes after us?"

Almost immediately, Brittany shook her head and screamed out. When she turned back towards the group, her face was once again drenched with tears.

"Why don't we get real, everybody?" She said as she sat in one of the chairs at the table. "He's _obviously_ going to come after us. We're the ones that _put_ him there!"

Alvin sighed and sat next to her and wrapped his hands around hers. "It's going to be alright, Britt… trust me. We beat him once and we'll beat him again. All we have to do is stick together. Remember, we're not the same little kids like the first time."

"But Alvin…" She cried. "This… this was supposed to be our day…"

Alvin nodded and kissed her lightly as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know… I know…"

The rest of the group merely watched them. This was hard on all of them but they knew it was the hardest on the two of them. With everything _they_ had been through, they couldn't help but feel for them.

Jeanette turned towards Simon. "Simon, we need to call and cancel our flight."

Simon nodded.

"No…" Alvin interjected. "You two should go on your flight."

Simon walked forward enough to place a hand on his older brother's shoulder. "I'm not leaving you, Alvin…"

"He's right, Simon." Brittany said as she looked up. "I don't want you and Jeanette to get hurt if you can get away from all of this."

"Brittany," Jeanette sighed. "We're family. We've never abandoned each other before and we're not about to start now. Besides, it's like Alvin said; we just need to stick together."

"They're right," Dave smiled. "No matter what happens, we're in this together. That's what being a family is. You two will never have to go through anything alone. We'll make sure of it."

This time, when Brittany looked up at everyone, the entire scene was somehow different from when she walked down before. Instead of arguing, everyone was standing together. While she had some idea from their past, this completely proved how _powerful _a family truly can be. It was an amazing feeling that she couldn't even begin to understand nor did she want to try. She possessed this power fueled by all of the people that loved her and with that power running in and through her very being, she had no doubt that they _could_ win. All they needed was each other.

"Thank you…" She whispered as she buried herself deeper into Alvin's arms. "Thank you all so much…"

"I told you," Alvin cooed as he held Brittany. "You're never alone. We're going to get through this."

"Well, we still need to figure out what we're going to do." Eleanor interjected.

"She's right." Simon stated. "We all agree that we'll check with the authorities tomorrow, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright," Simon continued. "Then we still need to figure out what we're going to do tonight."

"What do you mean, Simon?" Dave asked.

"I don't know how, but I'm sure that _he_ knows how to get here." Simon explained. "Personally, I think it's too risky."

Dave nodded slowly. "So what do you suppose we do, Simon?"

Simon stayed silent. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't really have an idea. The best that he could think of was to rent a room at some hotel or something but even that would be dangerous because _he_ may have a way to look at check in and checkout records. But staying at their old houses was even more dangerous. They had no way of knowing if _he_ knew how or where they were. So what were other options they had?

"Wait," Theodore interrupted. "We all moved out…"

Everyone stared at him for a few seconds before catching on.

"Theo's right," Alvin agreed. "We all have our own apartments—most of us, anyway."

Ever since they finished High School a few months ago, each of the young adults has been moving out. Alvin and Brittany were the firsts to move on their own and chose to rent an apartment out together. Simon and Jeanette soon followed but each got their own, separate apartments. And finally, Theodore and Eleanor were the lasts to leave but did the same as Simon and Jeanette and rented their own apartments. Each had more than enough space to occupy more than one person.

"I say we try to stay out of sight as much as possible until we know for sure that it's safe." Simon continued. "We have five different apartments and I say we split up and use them."

Dave nodded again. "Yeah, that seems like a good idea. But how should we split up?"

"I've got an idea," Eleanor began. "How about Alvin and Brittany get their apartment that they've been using, Simon and Jeanette get their own, you and Miss Miller get two for yourselves, and Theodore and I get the last one?"

"That's fine with me, how about everyone else?" Dave asked around.

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, then that's settled." Dave sighed. "Tomorrow morning, we'll get back together and we'll take this whole mess one step at a time."

Again, everyone nodded and got ready. Soon enough, they had already parted and were getting ready for bed. For Dave and Miss Miller, it was a pretty strange experience. While they had already gotten fairly used to living on their own over the past few months, the whole new housing was what felt strange. But they kept their roles as the parents and before they went to bed themselves, they made sure to call everyone and make sure that the others were alright.

For Theodore and Eleanor, it had its own strangeness. While they were both used to living alone _and_ with others, they had not been used to living together. They both realized that they were eventually going to be living together but they hadn't thought that it was going to be so soon and unexpected. But they were happy nonetheless. They knew it was something that was going to happen much more often eventually and they figured it was about time to see what it would feel like.

Simon and Jeanette on the other hand were more or less perfectly comfortable. While they hadn't permanently lived with each other yet, Jeanette had spent a few nights with Simon on occasion and they already knew that once they moved away for college, they were going to be living with each other in a dorm room.

Surprisingly, it was perhaps the strangest for Alvin and Brittany. They had been living with each other for months but that wasn't exactly the reason. Instead of having a happy and peaceful mind and thinking about the future, their minds were plagued with the thoughts of their past and what dangers their future could contain. Even now, they both lay there in their bed. Alvin holding Brittany close to his chest as Brittany cried and cried.

"Alvin?" Brittany whispered.

"Yeah?" Alvin whispered back.

There was a silence for a moment.

"Do you really think we can do this?"

Alvin slowly looked down at the chipette in his arms. "Brittany, there is no doubt in my mind that we _will_ get through this."

And almost immediately, she looked back up at him. "Do you promise?"

At this point, Alvin felt a strange sense of Déjà vu. Somehow, this whole scene reminded him of another time…

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_**~Flashback~**_

_It was nearly three days after the court session nearly three days after four Sevilles and four Millers had watched Michael Carmine be dragged out of the courtroom forcibly. The next few days were spent trying to deal with the press and other sources of media. No matter what they wanted, people were trying any way they possibly could to get it. Whether that meant literally _camping_ outside a house, business, or even a school to wait for one of the kids or their caretakers, or just desperately trying to ask for answers. To most people, the eight kept silent and discrete. However, they went on one and only one interview to answer some questions in a hope to end all of this. And it worked for the most part. Slowly, less and less people showed up around them to hound them for questions and it seemed as if life was finally starting to return to normal._

_Everyone was at the Seville household to plan what they were going to do. Whether they should move to start over, transfer the kids to a new school, answer any more questions that people may have, or just plainly keep people in the dark. Alvin and Brittany were the only two that weren't with the others. Those two were upstairs and quietly lying on Alvin's bed. Brittany was snuggled against the chipmunk and that very chipmunk was holding the chipette's body almost like he was afraid that he'd lose her if he let go._

_They both merely lay there, silent and unmoving. Alvin was rubbing Brittany's back, trying to make her comfortable and Brittany was trying her best to get some much needed sleep._

"_Alvin?" Brittany whispered._

"_Yeah?" Alvin responded._

_Brittany kept silent for a few seconds, seemingly trying to gather her words but once she had them, she still couldn't get them out._

"_D-Do you really think this is over?"_

_Alvin's eyes widened and he looked down at the chipette. "Yeah… yeah, I do."_

_Brittany bit her lip nervously at his answer. "Promise?"_

_Alvin looked back up at the room's ceiling and tightened his grip around her. "Promise."_

_And soon enough, the chipette drifted into the sleep that she had wanted for such a long time and the chipmunk soon followed._

_**~End of Flashback~**_

* * *

"Alvin?" Brittany whispered again as she noticed his sudden silence.

Alvin quickly snapped out of his trance and looked down at the chipette and smiled. "I promise."

Brittany smiled back as much as she could and buried her head back into his chest before falling asleep. Alvin watched her silently. He tightened her grip around her and rested his chin gently on the top her head.

"I promise, Brittany… and this time, I swear I'm going to keep it…"

And soon enough, the chipmunk followed his lover into the lands of dreams.

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**Well, what'd you all think? I thought it was pretty good when I wrote it but like always; I'm always up for some constructive criticism! Remember, REVIEW!**

**:D**


	4. A Quick Author's Note from the Author

**Author's Note**

Hello, people! It's been a very long time and I apologize if any of you have been waiting all of this time for me to return but you see, I've been in a "story slump" as I like to call it. My brain sort of turned to mush and I haven't really been able to come up with ideas for any of my stories, let alone _Driven By Love_ and, although I'm not proud of it, I sort of…gave up. But, I recently briefly re-read the first book and I remembered how many great ideas I had for the first and four other sequels so I _am_ willing to start writing again. However, is it too late?

Unfortunately, it's been a very long time. Most of the people I knew are gone. So I'm asking, if I would continue, would anybody continue reading it? It's a selfish question but please understand I could use my extra time for a number of things however, this was always something that I loved doing and I would love to continue doing it. So please, either send me a private message or review the story and tell me if you'd continue reading the sequel. Thanks for everything, guys.


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